Sometimes developing technical insights is simple—OXO built a business by ergonomically redesigning kitchen tools—but more often it’s hard, which is perhaps why most companies don’t make it a foundation of their strategy. Rather, they follow the conventional MBA approach of figuring out what they are best at (their competitive advantage, per Michael Porter),64 and then leveraging that to expand into adjacent markets. This approach can be very effective if you are an incumbent that measures success in percentage points, but not if you are trying a new venture. You will never disrupt an industry
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